Carpe Diem
by CodeNameZimbabwe
Summary: Ash and Misty discover that the best way to live life is to simply SEIZE THE DAY!....AAML.....oneshot!....Enjoy! :D


**A/N****: **AAAAHHH! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in FOREVER, but this summer has been really busy for me! :( Ohh wow……but hey! This is my tenth story! Hooray for double digits! WOOOO...WOooo..woo...ahem yeah so without further ado, here is an AAML oneshot for your reading pleasure! Enjoy! :)

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**Carpe Diem**

"Hey, Mist! Whatcha doin'?" asked Ash as he sat down on the grass beside his girlfriend.

"Shh! I'm thinking!" Misty replied, not even sparing him a glance. Her head resting on her knees, she stared straight ahead, brow furrowed.

Ash raised an eyebrow and stared at her for a few seconds, studying her closely. She continued to stare off into the distance with a glazed expression on her face, seemingly frozen. He sighed loudly, hoping to break her from her reverie, but Misty still refused to acknowledge his presence. Fed up, Ash reached over and flicked her on the side of the head.

_THWACK!_ A mallet pounded his hand away.

"WAAAHH!! Misty! What the heck was that for?! Jeez! That's my Pokéball-throwing hand!" Ash cried.

Misty just glared at him. "Urgh, Ash! You do _not_ touch me when I'm deep in thought!"

Ash winced as he tried to bend his swollen fingers. "Well, what are you even thinking about?"

"Stuff. Besides, you never think so you wouldn't understand!"

"Oh really?" Ash crossed his arms. "Well, you know what?! I _think_ that you're being a little grouchy right now, so I _think_ I'm gonna go back to camp, and I _think_ I'm gonna get something to eat 'cause I _think _I'm hungry, and I _think_ it's lunchtime, and --!"

A groan from Misty interrupted him. "Alright! Enough! God, Ketchum, you can be so annoying! Fine! You really wanna know what I was thinking about?" She asked, a skeptical look on her face.

"Yes. Yes, I do." He replied smugly.

Rolling her eyes, Misty sighed. "Okay, well, I was thinking about how quickly these past few years have gone by and how much things have changed. And then I started thinking about what's gonna happen when I have to go back to the gym and where my life is headed, and……..and….and, Ash, do you think I'm getting old?"

He blinked at her. "Uh, Misty, you're seventeen. That's --."

She groaned, cutting him off. "Yeah, but you're still sixteen! The difference between a sixteen-year-old and a seventeen-year-old is like crazy huge!"

Ash frowned. "So what are you saying, Misty? You don't wanna go out with me 'cause I'm younger than you? 'Cause we're only like seven months apart! And I'll be seventeen soon so we'll both be the same age! And --."

"No. I don't care that you're younger than me, Ash." Misty interrupted again. "It's just that, before long, I'm gonna be eighteen. And when I'm eighteen, my sisters said they're gonna make me be the one and only gym leader at Cerulean while they go off to live with their boyfriends……How exciting….." She added sarcastically.

Ash, not catching the sarcasm, replied with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. "That _is _exciting, Mist! I mean, then you won't have to take any of your sisters' crap any more! And you won't have to do any of those lame water ballets and --!"

"Ash! How could you say it'll be exciting?!"

"Huh? But you just said --."

"No! It'll suck! 'Cause I'll never be able to take off to travel with you! And I'll be stuck at the gym all day battling little kids! I mean come on!"

He frowned. "Hmm….you're right! That _will _suck!"

Misty threw her arms up, exasperated. "Urgh, Ash! Don't tell me it'll suck! I'm not _that _bad of a gym leader!"

A big question mark appeared over Ash's head. "Well then what the heck am I supposed to say to make you feel better?"

She sighed, tearing at the grass beneath her. "I don't know….I just don't know what I need to do. 'Cause I want more than anything to be with you, and to travel with you, just like when we were younger! Especially now that we're together! But there's no way I could leave the gym! It's my home! Ugh….I have no idea what I want…" She pounded her fist into the ground in frustration.

Ash smirked. "Can I talk or will you bite my head off?"

Misty turned to face him, smiling innocently. "Ash, have I ever bitten your head off?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, I'm assuming that's a joke. Anyway, I think I can offer some good advice!"

"This oughta be good…." She mumbled under her breath before turning her attention back to her boyfriend.

"Y'know, Mist, if you can believe it, there was a time in my boyhood when _I _had trouble figuring out what I really wanted. And so a great, very important man in my life gave me some words of wisdom."

He wrapped an arm around Misty's shoulders, the other stretching out to encompass the landscape before them. "Y'see, the man pulled me into his lap, looked me in the eye and said, '_Ash, m'boy, you should always live in the now. Try not to worry about the future or the past. If you focus on what you want in this moment, you will find true happiness…._'" Ash smiled faintly as he shared the memory.

Misty smiled too, cozying up to him. "Wow, who told you that, Ash? Your father?"

He turned to look at her, grinning widely. "Nope! Santa Claus at the mall! I was having trouble telling him what I wanted for Christmas so he told me that! Heh, I guess I was just a little starstruck!"

"Yeah, I'll make you starstruck!"

_BAM!_ Once again, Misty's mallet whacked him to kingdom come.

"Dangit, Ash! Here I thought you were confiding in me with one of the few happy memories you have of your father, but no! As usual, you were just babbling about nothing! Man, you suck! I don't know why I even bother coming to visit you! Sheesh!"

Ash sat up, rubbing the lump forming on his head. "Is it 'cause you think I'm great?" He flashed her a smile and a thumbs-up.

Misty couldn't help but giggle. She sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. Unfortunately, whenever I come to see you, it's like I'm in some sort of dream world that I never want to wake up from, where time just passes us by and everything is perfect!" She flopped back onto the grass.

Ash did the same. "Ouch, that _is_ unfortunate!" He said with a smirk.

"Ash, do you even know what time or what day it is when you're out here?" Misty asked, rolling over to face him.

"Nope." He replied, closing his eyes.

"And doesn't that bother you? Being so far away from reality?"

"Nope." He said again.

"Huh…." Misty frowned slightly.

The two lay together in silence for a minute.

Ash opened his eyes to see Misty seemingly deep in thought once more.

He chuckled. "Misty, relax!" He reached over, taking her hand in his and squeezing it. "Jeez, you never used to freak out this much about stuff! And I know you think it was just gibberish, but if you think about what Santa told me, I think it could help you!"

Misty raised an eyebrow. "You know that guy was probably high on something when he told you that, right?"

"At the time, no. I thought he was the real deal. But so what? After all, there _is _that saying, '_Drunken thoughts are sober words'_ or something like that, right?"

Misty just smacked her forehead.

"What!" Ash sat up. "Aw, come on, Mist! Cheer up! Santa was so totally right, and you know it! I mean, there's even a song about livin' in the moment! You know how it goes! It's got that tune….and the other part…..and then there's singing…..then the beat picks up and….uhh…..well, you know!"

Sitting up too, Misty blinked at him, her voice oozing with sarcasm. "No, I don't know. Why don't you sing it for me, Ashy, if you know it so well!"

Ash glared at her smug expression. "Urgh, fine. There's no song….at least not that I know of….but sheesh! I'm just tryin' to get your mind off stuff that's not gonna happen for a really long time! I mean really! Just thinkin' about what I'm gonna wear tomorrow makes my head hurt….." He mumbled, glancing down at his lap.

Misty laughed. "Ash, you wear the same outfit every day!"

"Nuh-uh!" He pouted. "I've had two outfit changes since I started my journey, I'll have you know!" For further emphasis, he popped the collar of his black vest.

"Whoa there! Those outfits were in the past! And thinking about the past doesn't really go along with this carpe diem lifestyle you want me to live by!" Misty teased.

He frowned. "'Carpe diem'? What's that? Misty, you know I don't speak Spanish! C'mon! All I want you to do is seize the day! Starting now! Tell me what you want to do in this second!"

The next thing he knew, Misty had tackled him to the ground, kissing him hard. Ash immediately kissed her back, holding her close. A few seconds later, the two pulled apart.

Ash smiled, laughing breathlessly. "Heh, what was that?"

Misty laughed too, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Just a little carpe diem for ya!"

He snickered. "Ohh, so _that's _what carpe diem means! Why didn't you just say so? And here I was talkin' bout seizing the --!"

She rolled her eyes. "Ash, just stop talking!"

He grinned. "Sounds good to me!"

Misty giggled as their lips met again, continuing to live in the moment.

**THE END!!**

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**A/N****: **BAM! FINISHED! Lol I hope you liked it! And once again, sorry for the extreme updating delay! Thanks for reading! :)


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